OUTDOOR SCULPTURE
Song of the Sun
This commission was made for Hengshui, China, to be placed along the riverfront in the centre of the town. It consists of seven elements made of polished and painted stainless steel. Song of the Sun continues Clare’s current practice of using found, pre-fabricated and remade objects. It is inspired by the construction beams and oil barrels of industry and global trade. Each beam is 5.5m long and bent in a different way according to engineering principles. The arrangement invites the public to participate by walking around or sitting on the pieces and by enjoying the reflections of the mirrors and the river. The yellow colour is chosen to stand out but not to conflict the trees and river. Whilst optimistic about the future, the piece recognises the dilemmas globalisation and industry present us with as citizens of the world.
COME HELL OR HIGH WATER, WATERLOO FESTIVAL
As part of the Waterloo Festival, 2019, the London Group curated an exhibition, ‘Come Hell or High Water’ in the St John’s Church churchyard. Taking 30 cistern ball floats, I created a cluster and placed it high in a tree. The cluster was covered in fibreglass, coated in jesmonite and painted in pale pink so it could sit comfortably within the tree. The piece is called High Water Line and references rising sea levels.
A MOMENT OF REFLECTION – CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE FULMER
This sculpture was inspired by ideas about borders and reflection. Made of polished and powder coated stainless steel, it invites interaction. The small red panels indicate its presence in the landscape whilst the steel camouflages itself within its surroundings.
BORDERLINES
This pair of sculptures are made are part of the black and white project of 2016-18. The challenge I set was to use as little material as possible to create the largest barrier. This was inspired by the seemingly small administrative requirements designed to block movements of people. As visitors move around the space the black and white stripes, which reference traffic signs, come in and out of view, altering how the space is read. The shape of the pieces changes entirely depending on your point of view.
NATURAL FREQUENCY
These three pink sculptures are designed to be set against nature. The pink is chosen to contrast but not jump out and the proportions of the golden rectangle are repeated in the growth cycle around them. The thin lines define spaces and relationships between the forms and create viewfinders for the landscape beyond. The work has shown at Sculptural with William Benington Gallery, Hannah Peschar Gardens and Cheeseburn Sculpture Park.
PAPER ECONOMY
Paper Economy is a powder –coated steel structure which spent two years in Spitalfields, London. The piece was designed to draw gentle attention to the qualities of A4 paper used ubiquitously in the offices surrounding Bishop’s Square. As office workers type and print their documents, few might consider the beauty of the rectangle on which they are working and the effect it has on the way they think and what they write. A root 2 rectangle, the basis of the International Paper system, retains its proportions each time it is folded in half. As a result large sheets of paper can be cut in half and half again with no wastage.
THE CEMETERY DRAWINGS
These ‘drawings’ of Victorian headstones were originally commissioned to remember absent graves in West Norwood Cemetery before transferring to the Churchyard at Croft Castle and to the Bo-lee gallery. In West Norwood, as part of site-specific exhibition these metal ‘drawings’ in painted steel, traced the outlines of headstones on land previously cleared by the Council. They represented those buried in the cemetery but whose grave is no longer marked. I chose the colour turquoise because it read as a clear coloured line by day and caught the moonlight by night. There are other colours that might have achieved this such as yellow or orange but I didn’t want the works to ‘shout’ at all, especially given the location.
This project is my second in one of London’s Magnificent Seven’ cemeteries. The first was my solo exhibition ‘All Soles’ in the Brompton Cemetery in 2002.
ROADWORKS
In 2004 Hammersmith and Fulham held its annual visual arts season and I was commissioned to intervene in the street opposite the Riverside studios. This was a time before legislation was introduced to limit the number of for sale and rent signs that could be displayed outside a single property, and the roads were packed with them. This project explored the proportion of the estate agent’s sign with 8 of slightly varying shapes placed along the street.
